A note from the Author;

First and foremost, I should mention that this is Part 2 in a series. While reading Part 1 might not be entirely necessary, since this is a different world entirely, I still recommend it. Even if the characters are mostly different, there are things from that first story that carry over.

And with that out of the way; welcome to Part 2 of my Genesis series!

Man, this chapter took a while to put together. I never expected my new job to suck up so much of my time, but that's what you get when you go to 10 hour shifts. Fear not, for I will continue this story! Also, after some serious consideration, I think I've settled on how many parts there's going to be in total (and the number makes me really wonder if I'm some kind of masochist). I've settled on about 6, which means I will get to read/reread/watch/rewatch more than a few anime/manga. I don't think it'll be too bad, since most of them are series that I quite like. But stringing them together into one overall story is going to be…fun. Yeah, we'll go with that.

Also, just so you know; I'm using the manga instead of the anime for this one, since it gives me far more material to work with. Anyway, now that I've gotten that out of my system, on to the show!

Dangerous Waters

Crouching down to brace herself as the deck tilted, Astoria cringed as another wave of missiles slammed into her Klein field. Gritting her teeth, she turned her point defense guns in the direction of the newest incoming fire and blasted away at the others. The sky was filled with explosions as she destroyed scores of projectiles, but they were quickly replaced as another two volleys came screaming out of the water before arching towards her and the rest of her task force.

'This is all wrong,' she thought as she tried to get some kind of handle on the situation, 'Where in the hell did all of this come from?'

Glancing at her radar, which was still a jumbled mess from some kind of jamming, she tried to tell just how bad their losses really were. Finally, she settled for visual confirmation, and what she saw wasn't encouraging. Of the 24 ships that had been sent on this expedition, there were only 5 left standing. Kashii, a light cruiser from the second Oriental fleet near Japan; Calypso and Exeter, a light and heavy cruiser respectively from the European fleets; and Kaganovich, a Soviet Heavy cruiser. Then there was her ship, a cruiser from one of the US fleets.

The Fog had detected strange readings coming from a region on Antarctica's coast, and they had decided to assemble a force made up of ships from several fleets to investigate. And now it was down to Astoria and four other cruisers, with the rest of their ships sunk under this unforgiving barrage. They had grouped up and were attempting to carve a path out of this trap, but they were making little headway. If the constant missile strikes weren't bad enough, they were also being hammered with particle beams coming from the coastline. It was made even worse by the fact that the emplacements seemed to be mobile, since no matter how far they moved along the coast they continued to hammer the Fog ships.

"Kashii, any luck?" Astoria asked as she turned her main guns towards the latest shoreline position. Normally, they wouldn't be able to fire on land-based targets, but their current predicament made that rule more of a guideline; one they were happy to ignore for now.

"No," Kashii replied as she blew another flight of missiles out of the sky, "I still can't reach the other Fleets. Even the Mental Space isn't responding. I can't figure out what's blocking us."

"Damn…" Astoria cursed. Whoever was behind this attack had clearly planned for everything, going so far as to completely isolate the task force. How they had managed to do that was still unknown, and it didn't help matters that her radar was made of snow at the moment.

Firing a barrage at the coast, she watched as snow and ice exploded outward from her shells. Just as she thought she'd finally nailed one of the emplacements, two of them blasted her in the side in an attempt to destroy her guns. Her Klein field stopped them, but she was reaching the point of max saturation quickly. This constant trading of fire was getting them nowhere, and if they were all sunk here than the rest of the Fog would be left vulnerable to whatever the hell this was.

Slamming her hand into the deck, she cursed aloud before bringing up her navigation screen. "All ships; divert course and fall in behind me!" she ordered, "Fire off a barrage of corrosive missiles to cover us, and don't you dare slow down!"

"We're running?!" Kaganovich demanded, appalled at the idea, "You cannot seriously think that I'll-!"

"We don't have the numbers to face this!" Astoria countered, cutting her off, "If we all go down here, the entire fleet will be at risk! We have to report back."

"Then it's too bad, cause you're not going anywhere."

They all heard the voice, and it made them freeze for a moment. To have someone actively jamming them was one thing, but to also have them accessing their communications…

"Who is this?" Kashii demanded, trying to get a bearing on the signal's origin.

"Your end, little girl. I hope you enjoyed the ride."

Before they could push for further details, something erupted from the water just in front of the group of ships. Before the fountain of water had even fallen back towards the surface it had come from, particle beams smashed into Astoria's forward Klein field. Ignoring the fire, she began accelerating to flanking speeds while bringing her forward guns to bear on the source of fire. That was when the water to the sides of the ships erupted into similar plumes, and then things got about ten times worse.

The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky, and Takao couldn't help but feel her spirits soar as an island finally came into view. But it wasn't just any island, it was his island. It was the rumored base of the rouge Fog submarine I-401, and more importantly her commander. As she approached her objective, Takao went over her plan again. 'All I need to do is pacify any automated defenses and lock down the port's controls,' she thought as she beamed in triumph, 'Once I've taken control of everything, then Gunzou Chihaya will have no choice but to accept me as his flagship. And then…then…'

At that point, her mind started to run away with her as she fantasized about him taking her, in more ways than one. She was so enthralled by her daydream that she failed to notice her sensors reporting odd readings. However, what did get her attention was the water off her bow suddenly erupting upwards. At first, she thought that it had been a torpedo that had somehow prematurely detonated. That was, until something moved out of the plume and landed on her forward battery. The turret was crushed under the weight, and it was only then that she got a good look at her attacker.

It was a large machine built to look like a human. It was primarily white with sections of blue on the upper armor and red highlights. But what really got her attention was the face; there wasn't a discernible mouth, but the entire structure of the head almost reminded her of a Samurai's helmet. It was at that point that the machine looked up at her and the eyes seemed to flash, and that was when her mind started working again.

"What the-?!" she began as she tried to bring her second battery to bear on it.

However, the machine just lifted itself up before pulling a weapon from its waist. Before she could blast it off her hull, it stabbed a sword down into her second gun. A sword. The sheer absurdity of it was enough to stun her again as the machine's other arm came up, pointing its shield right at her. Then she heard the whoosh of a launching missile, and she had just barely begun to bring her hands up to create a local Klein field when the missile just detonated. She was showered with a strange material, and she realized too late that it was in fact nano-material.

Then she felt her entire body convulse, and she managed to let out a short scream before collapsing and passing out. The entire encounter lasted only seconds, but it still left her in the same situation; she had been captured.

Once he was sure that the Mental Model had been neutralized, Avalon opened the Exia's hatch before dropping to the deck with his gun drawn. While he knew that there was only ever one Mental Model per ship, he still didn't want to take any chances. Although, he seriously doubted that his handgun would do any real damage to one in a fight. After giving the deck a cursory exam, he walked over to the disabled girl and made sure she was still out. He then unclipped a device from his belt before planting it on the deck and hitting the button on the side.

It immediately fixed itself to the metal, the two lights on the side lighting up and flashing in sequence as a small dish unfolded from the top. Moments later, the lights held steady to indicate that the connection had been established.

Triggering his earpiece, he asked, "Are we good?"

*The connection is solid,* a feminine voice replied, *I have control of the ship. Bringing it into port now.*

"You sure that's a good idea?" he asked as he glanced at the unconscious girl again.

*Relax, Av, I have full control of the weapons and propulsion. The most she can do when she recovers is curse and splutter.*

"Somehow, that's not reassuring," he said before cutting the connection. Turning, he watched as the ship moved closer to the island, his Gundam still perched on the nose.

Bolting upright, Takao almost cried out in panic as she came back to the land of the conscious. Looking around, she saw that she was no longer outside, or even aboard her ship. That could only mean one thing; she'd been defeated, captured. The first time it had happened, she'd felt shame and rage, but also admiration and affection. She'd never lost to a human before, ever, and yet Gunzou had managed to defeat her. To top it off, he'd elected to let her walk away relatively intact. He could have confiscated her ship and stripped it for material, taken every bite of information from her database, or just sunk her and shattered her core. But he'd let her go, and that action of mercy had been enough to capture her heart.

This time, however, she only felt anger and embarrassment. She'd known that this place would have automated defenses, but she'd never expected anything like this. That machine had taken her completely by surprise, closing on her before she could raise her Klein field and crippling her main guns. The nano-material dusting to disable her had been a nice touch, although she suspected that it could have quite easily killed her had it wanted to. Pushing herself off the crate she'd been set on, she looked around the hanger she was in.

It was a large room, designed to berth three ships at once under cover. In the far berth sat her own hull, but when she reached out to it she felt something blocking her. 'So, they've seized control of my ship, then,' she thought as she looked around some more. If she couldn't fight her way out, then she would have to opt for a subtler approach. However, that idea was brought to a screeching halt when she saw something else sitting within the bay.

Kneeling on the other side of the bay from her hull was the same machine that had taken her out. Its head was tilted down slightly, and the light in its eyes was gone, but there was no mistaking it. Balling her hands into fists, she felt her anger welling up as she stalked over to it. She was going to get some answers out of this thing, damnit, even if she was reduced to just her human body.

"Hey, you big pile of scrap!" she shouted as she got closer, "Just who the hell do you think you are, sneaking up on me like that?! And how the hell did you manage to do that, anyway?"

Coming to a stop before it, she crossed her arms expectantly as she waited for an answer. When she received none, her temper flared even more.

"I'm talking to you, you stupid machine!" she cried, "Say something! Answer me!"

"That won't do you any good."

"I said, say some-" she started before the new voice fully registered. Turning around to face its source, she saw that a young man had come up behind her. He was wearing white pants with black lines down the sides, a black shirt with a dark red jacket over it. He also had white hair, which was odd for a human. Shaking her head, she decided to focus more on her anger and indignation than his appearance.

"And just what would a human know about Fog weaponry?" she asked pointedly.

"Not as much as I'd like," he replied casually before gesturing to the machine behind her, "But I know quite a bit about that machine behind you, considering it's mine."

"Then why don't you just…what?" she asked, her anger deflating as quickly as it came only to be replaced with confusion, "It's yours? But…why would it…?"

Sighing, he walked past her and approached the machine in question. "You're never going to get this without a visual," he said as he brought his hand up to his ear, "Exia, enter boarding mode."

The machine's eyes flashed once in response before the hatch in its chest opened. A moment later, and the boarding cable extended down from its housing. Turning to Takao, he smirked as he saw the look on her face. It took her a while for her mind to start working again and a bit longer after that before she could form coherent sentences.

"You mean…" she said, "I was beaten…by…"

"Me," he finished, crossing his arms as his smirk grew broader, "As for how I snuck up on you; that's just one of the perks of a GN drive."

"A what?"

"Something I'm not about to explain to you," he replied as he closed the hatch back up. Without another word, he moved to walk right past her. However, Takao wasn't someone who took being ignored easily.

Grabbing his arm, she stopped him cold before saying, "Don't think you can just brush me off so easily, human. I can still kill you."

"And then what will happen?" he asked, not bothering to even try to break her grip, "Your hull is ours, and you're inside our base. What do you think will happen if you kill me, miss heavy cruiser?"

For a brief moment, she considered doing just that. She'd only just met this human, and yet he was already grating on her nerves in a way that was only matched by her sister. But… if she killed him here, then she'd likely share his fate. If that happened, then she wouldn't get to make Gunzou hers. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she released his arm and stepped back.

"So, what now?" she asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Now, I'm going to go and grab something to eat," he said as he turned and began walking away, "Your little 'attack' interrupted my lunch, and I'm freaking hungry."

"What about me?!"

"What about you?" he replied, glancing back at her, "Go check your hull, read something, whatever it is your kind does for fun."

"My kind?" she demanded as she began following him, "And just what do you mean by that?"

"That I couldn't care less what you do with your time," he said, waving his hand dismissively, "So long as you aren't causing trouble, you can do as you please."

"Is there something you want to say to me, human?!" she demanded as she finally jumped in front of him, blocking his path.

"I have nothing to say to artificial life," he replied coldly as he brushed past her.

His response was so blunt that she was at a loss for words. Turning to watch him go, she felt her anger welling up again. But she also felt…confused. He was presumably a member of Blue Steel, but he hadn't shown any of the kindness that Gunzou had. In fact, it sounded like he wouldn't have thought twice about destroying her, no matter the circumstances. The contempt in his voice when he said 'artificial life' had almost been like a physical smack, and a part of her had to wonder just what had caused him to form such an opinion.

Deciding to leave it for now, she turned and went to inspect her hull. Even if she couldn't use it for the moment, it would be best to make sure it was ready for when she could. After a quick examination, she saw that the damage was surprisingly minimal. Aside from her two forward batteries, the rest of the ship was relatively untouched. Of course, she could only tell what was wrong visually, since even her ship's basic systems had been locked out. During her examination, she noticed that a large floating egg-shaped drone had come aboard. Of course, she just assumed it was another autonomous machine, but it was still a surprise when it spoke.

"I wouldn't read too much into Avalon's comments, Takao," it advised in a feminine voice, "He doesn't talk about his past much, but it's clearly…painful."

"I'm sure it is," she replied sarcastically, "…Wait, why am I even talking to a bot?"

"Because I'm not a bot?" it offered before the egg split.

It opened along several lines, looking almost like a flower in bloom as it revealed an older woman with a lab coat and a monocle. Takao recognized her almost immediately; the former flagship Hyuuga, thought to have been sunk in battle against the 401. Why she was here and helping her enemies was anyone's guess, and after recent events Takao wasn't sure if she wanted any more surprises.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" she asked after she got over her initial shock, "Aren't you…?"

"Dead?" Hyuuga offered as she hopped off her platform, "In a sense, I guess I was before. But after meeting my darling Iona, I felt life flow through me. How could I go back to the fleet after she'd stolen my heart?"

'Well, that answers that question,' Takao thought as she watched the former flagship gush, eyebrow twitching. Shaking her head to clear it, she asked, "Were you the one that repaired my hull?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes," Hyuuga replied, "It was a rather easy fix, although I'm sure Av could have taken you without doing any damage at all. Still, he tends to be a little cautious."

"Av?"

"You've met him already, remember?" Hyuuga asked as she walked over and pulled up a status screen for the ship, "He's the pilot of the Exia; that big machine that took you out."

"I was caught off-guard!" Takao exclaimed, "That thing wouldn't last 10 seconds against me in a real fight!"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Hyuuga told her, glancing at her with a smirk, "It's a lot trickier than it appears."

"Just what is a human doing with that kind of technology anyway?" Takao asked, deciding to change the subject, "They don't have anything that could challenge us, so where did he get it?"

"That's…" Hyuuga began, looking up in thought, "That's a complicated issue, and I'm not sure you have the patience to listen to me explain it."

"Oh, really?" Takao asked before dropping into a seated position, "Just try me."

"Alright," Hyuuga said with a sigh as she dismissed the screen, "Just remember, you asked for it."

Finishing the last of his light lunch, Avalon made his way back towards the docks. That new Model should have finished her inspection by now, and he couldn't just leave her to poke around on her own. He wasn't all that concerned about her accessing the base's systems, since Hyuuga had everything locked to her codes. He was, however, worried about leaving her alone with the Exia. He knew that the security systems for its computer would be able to resist most intrusions for a while, but he couldn't assume that it would keep a being like a Mental Model locked out for long.

When he entered the dock again, he was relatively surprised to see that she wasn't crawling all over the Gundam in a search for answers. Instead, he caught someone else eyeing the machine like a person eyed a juicy steak.

"Hyuuga," he growled as he chopped the back of her head, snapping the woman from her thoughts, "How many times have I told you?"

Turning around quickly, she tried to wipe the small drool trail away before he noticed it. "B-But…" she began, her eyes beginning to sparkle, "It's just… oh, how can I help myself?!" She quickly collapsed at his feet, grabbing his legs as she continued, "It's just such a foreign piece of technology, Av! So simple, but so powerful! And it can operate in space, too! How can I resist that?"

"Hyuuga…"

"And the reactor!" she continued, ignoring him completely, "A nuclear power source that's practically perpetual and harnesses a previously unknown particle? Oh, Avalon, you have to let me examine this machine. Please, please, please!"

"…" Looking at her pleading face, he found it nearly impossible to say no to her. It almost felt like he was staring at a miserable puppy. Almost. "No," he said finally as he pried her arms off of him.

"But, Av!"

"Not happening," he assured her as he walked over to the Gundam, "This technology is secret for a reason, Hyuuga. I'm not going to be responsible for making things worse."

"And just how can that bucket of bolts make things worse?" Takao asked, having come over to see just what the hell was making all of the noise, "I'm pretty sure we can't make use of swords in the Fleet."

"No, but you could make use of a power source that makes flight trivial," he told her as the hatch opened, "And the fact that it gives off no heat, and naturally jams almost all sensors and communications within range. Or did you think I was just lucky to sneak up on you?"

"You were!"

"Then how have I been able to scout Fog patrols without detection?" he shot back as the boarding cable descended, "Or what about the ships that have vanished without a trace? You think they just got unlucky?"

"That was you?!" she demanded, simultaneously angry and a little intimidated. Several of the more…imaginative Models had begun to think that certain areas around Japan were haunted, considering that they'd lost several patrol boats and destroyers without any sign. The ships would simply disappear from all sensors, and whenever someone went to investigate they wouldn't find anything. That it was the work of one lone human definitely unsettled her.

"It's part of the reason that the Blue Steel has been able to stay a couple steps ahead of your Fleets," he said as he boarded his Gundam. Dropping into the command chair, he booted the systems and began to run the diagnostics. Even with two Models around, he had to make sure his Gundam was in decent shape.

"Blue Steel?" Takao asked, confused, "What the heck is that supposed to be?"

"It's the name of our Fleet," Hyuuga replied, "Under the command of our beautiful Goddess of War, Iona. Although…" Avalon could practically hear her eyes sliding away from looking at Takao in embarrassment. "…It does only have two ships in it…"

"Two ships?" Takao asked, snorting, "Seriously? It's a small wonder that you haven't been destroyed yet."

"Considering one of the ships is my Assault Container, I wouldn't get too full of yourself," Avalon called out.

"And just how did someone like you join this 'Fleet?'" Takao pressed, trying not to get annoyed that she couldn't look him in the eye.

"Someone like me?'' Avalon asked, pushing himself out of the chair so he could see them both, "Just what do you…" It took him a moment to connect the dots, but when he did the reaction was instantaneous. "Hyuuga!" he shouted, almost making her flinch, "What did I say?!"

"Well, she asked!" Hyuuga replied, "If you'd let me examine this machine, I might have been more-"

"Damnit, and you wonder why I don't trust your kind!" he shouted, cutting her off before dropping back into the chair with a hand covering his eyes, "It's bad enough you're artificial, but they just had to make you women, too."

"You really don't care for the Fog, do you?" Takao asked, "Just what is it that we did to you, anyway? What could we have possibly taken from someone that doesn't even belong on this planet?"

"… It's none of your concern," he replied before closing the cockpit. Over the speaker, he said, "My Container is likely getting low, so I'm going to dock. Hyuuga, I trust you can keep an eye on our friend here?"

He didn't even wait for her to answer, instead standing the Gundam up before turning and dropping into the water. Takao watched him leave with a mix of anger and confusion. She wasn't the most knowledgeable person when it came to human emotions, but even she could tell that his anger wasn't entirely sincere. Even without knowing he wasn't from their world, she would bet that his apparent hatred of artificial life stemmed from somewhere else. Of course, what that source was exactly was a complete mystery, and even Hyuuga had admitted that none of the others in the fleet knew. They only knew that he was always on edge around her and Iona, suspicious of them in spite of their recent actions.

Turning away, she decided to return to her ship for the evening. Unfortunately for the both of them, Takao wasn't just annoyed by Avalon's attitude; she was intrigued by it. He was clearly a powerful individual, and if she could discover his weaknesses then it would give her an edge in the future. While the whole concept of 'tactics' was still mostly beyond her reach for the time being, she recognized an opportunity when she saw one. If she was going to continue to fight against these humans, she would need a greater knowledge of them. 'So, let the game being,' she thought with a smirk, sure of her victory.

Almost two days later, and the two of them were indeed facing off against each other. But it wasn't in the way that Takao had initially intended. Shifting in her chair, she examined the board in front of her again as she tried to understand what was going on. More importantly, she tried to keep her goal firmly in mind even as she reached out her hand hesitantly for one of her pieces.

Avalon had figured out pretty quickly that she was trying to pick him apart and learn what made him tick. Unfortunately for her, her technique regarding interrogation and subtly was…lacking, to say the least. Her questions had been rather blunt, her intent painfully obvious, and her excuses laughably false. When he'd finally called her on it, she'd reluctantly decided that asking for his help was her only option at that point.

Well, it was more like she commanded him to teach her, but in her mind she was asking. That's what mattered, right?

He'd considered just ignoring her request, since he had no obligation to help her. What's more, he didn't like the idea of making a potential enemy more capable on the battlefield. However, after almost a full day of badgering, he relented. If nothing else, he would get a true measure of how Fog Models operated. After instructing her to wait in the dock, he had gone in search of the perfect instrument. And when he'd found it, he couldn't help the slightly evil grin that came to his face. When he had returned to the dock and placed the board and pieces out on one of the larger crates, she'd looked at him like was crazy.

"Chess? Really?" she asked, crossing her arms as she arched an eyebrow.

"You wanted to learn tactics," Avalon had told her as he sat down on one side of the board, black pieces in hand, "This is probably the best way to teach you without risking you cheating."

"I don't cheat!" she exclaimed before dropping onto the other side of the board, "Fine, you want to match wits with me? Then bring it on, human!"

It took him minutes to take her queen, and that was with her having the first move. Admittedly, she only knew the basics of chess, and she'd been in a rush to crush him. Her moves had been obvious and focused solely on his king, and as such he had been able to pick her apart with the other pieces with very little loss. Their next few matches went about the same, with Takao constantly striving for a quick victory. Avalon had known that the Fog's approach to combat was 'overwhelming force' before anything else, but to see one of them applying it to any form of challenge was both interesting and worrying.

"Alright, that's enough," he'd said as he began packing the board up.

"One more match!" she demanded, "I almost had you that last time!"

"You weren't even close, although I'll admit your trap did take two pieces with it," he told her as he picked the box up and began walking away, "Try going over what happened and finding what you did wrong. We'll pick this up again tomorrow."

"I…But…" she stammered, only to look down at her clasped hands.

Those defeats had, somehow, been even more humiliating than her actual defeats. It was just a stupid game with rather simple rules, and yet he'd been able to crush her every time. Not only that, but she knew, she just knew, that he hadn't been going all-out against her. Closing her eyes, she tried to force her anger down as she replayed their matches. He had been right about one thing; this game had required a better grasp on strategy and observation than she currently possessed. Now that she had the benefit of hindsight, she couldn't believe she'd fallen for some of the traps she had. 'I won't be played like that again,' she decided as she began analyzing his tactics, 'I can't afford to be beaten like that if I want to make Gunzou mine.'

That had brought them to today, and this time she was putting up much more of a fight. Rather than rushing straight for victory, she was taking more time and probing him with her pawns. Her caution had cost her half of them, as well as a knight and bishop, but she'd taken three of his pawns and a rook. Avalon could tell that she was paying far more attention to what he was doing, and she was clearly trying to anticipate where he would put the most pressure. 'She's taking on a more defensive stance,' he thought as he moved another piece, 'But that's going to be a problem on its own, too.'

Her decision might have been costing him more pieces, but she was still losing ground. But he wasn't about to point that out to her. If she was half as skilled as she believed herself to be, then she'd figure the error out on her own. As their match continued, she managed to take another three pieces, but she had also been reduced to a rook, knight and her king. Looking at the position she was in, she heaved a sigh before toppling her king herself.

"Giving up so soon?" Avalon asked, slightly confused. She'd always given her all to the end before, but something seemed…different.

"What's the point in trying to beat you at this point," she asked without looking up, "You won several moves ago. I was just hoping I could…turn it around…just like…"

"Captain Chihaya?" he asked, leaning back as she looked up at him in surprise, "Remember when I said this was a good starting point?" A nod. "Well, that's all that this is good for," he continued, "It may teach you to be careful and observant, but it also doesn't illustrate the reality of a battle. There are so many more things that can happen then this game has."

"I know that!"

"Then why are you acting like this is the absolute end?" he asked, catching her slightly off-guard, "It's just a game, not live-fire. Losing here just means you missed something that you need to learn for the next time. It's not going to get you killed, and it's not like you can't play again."

Taking a breath to steady herself, Takao pushed those doubts back down again. He was right, of course; she'd only lost at a game, so it wasn't the end of the world. She could still learn from this, and even if it couldn't fully prepare her for combat it would be a good start. Picking her pieces up, she began setting her side up for another match. Smiling, Avalon did the same.

They were about three moves into their current match when Hyuuga came down to them riding in her egg. She looked more than a little excited, and the two of them were confused as to why.

"Hyuuga, where's the fire?" he asked as he stood up, concerned because there was a real chance it was a literal fire considering what Hyuuga did when she was bored.

"L-Lady Iona!" she stammered, zipping back and forth. Despite the fact that she was riding in a probe, she was doing a remarkable job of pacing like a person.

"What about her?" Avalon pressed.

"She's returned!"

Looking out at the entrance-way for the dock, Avalon didn't even hear Takao stand up and gasp. "Well, damn," he said, smirking, "It's about time they got back."

Faced with incredible odds, Avalon and the Blue Steel try to find a way to achieve their goals. New allies are made and new enemies step into the light as they prepare to depart.

Next Chapter; Our Fleet

For what are you willing to fight?